Thursday, September 13, 2012

KFC, Pizza Hut to resume services from Sunday

Popular international food chains
KFC, Pizza Hut and Cream Bell ice cream parlour will resume their services from
Sunday.

The food chains and ice cream
parlour were closed since August 14, following a dispute between the management
— Devyani International Nepal — and trade union — All Nepal Revolutionary Hotel
and Restaurant Workers’ Association.

"We have settled our
differences, so KFC, Pizza Hut and Cream Bell ice cream parlour will reopen
from Sunday," said president of the trade union at Devyani International
Nepal Navaraj Bhatta.

A meeting of the officials from
Devyani International Nepal and the trade union narrowed down their differences
to build a conducive environment to reopen the food chain and ice cream
parlour.

The management and trade union
signed a three point agreement today. ccording to the agreement, both parties
will obey rules and regulation of the company, the management should respect
labour laws including trade union rights and the management should take action
against wrong doing workers.

It had closed down its outlets as
per the principle of 'No Work, No Pay'.

However, workers had refuted the
allegation that workers had manhandled management staff. "Devyani
International Nepal shut down KFC, Pizza Hut and Cream Bell outlets as workers
were set to register a trade union," vice president of the trade union
associated to CPN-Maoist Mohan Vaidhya Tika Subedi had said at the time.

Department of Labour, and
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry had attempted several
times to mediate between the workers and management but the efforts had failed
as both parties stuck to their points.

KFC and Pizza Hut entered Nepal
on November 23, 2009, as the first multinational food chain and opened their outlet
in Durbar Marg. Devyani International also opened Pizza Hut Delivery at Blue
Bird in Tripureshwor last October to provide free home delivery service. The
international chain employs some 180 Nepalis.

Workers united

KATHMANDU: Pro-Maoist hotel and
restaurant workers have claimed that news relating to their division favouring
UCPN-Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and prime minister Dr
Baburam Bhattarai is false. There is no division at All Nepal Hotel and
Restaurant Workers’ Union, and a handful of people have been spreading rumours,
the establishment side of the trade union said at Reporters’ Club today.
"Our trade union is united and there is no division favouring either
Prachanda or Dr Baburam," said coordinator of the Fourth National
Convention Organising Committee Prakash Shrestha. The convention will be held
in Pokhara on September 15-16. "We have already prepared for the
convention and it will not be stopped following any dispute with a handful of
people," he added. Meanwhile, the trade union has expelled Hom Subedi, a
worker close to the Bhattarai faction, charging him with working against the
trade union’s norms and values. “Hom is a master mind of the propaganda,” said
president of Hotel de l’Annapurna chapter of the trade union Nar Bahadur
Lamichhane.